A custom software development firm is busy re-committing to a lakeshore town, expanding to the east — and hiring.

Muskegon

Hank Betten, the owner of Muskegon-based Corlnet is big on Muskegon.

Corlnet started on Plainfield Avenue in Grand Rapids back in 2008, and Betten moved his business to Muskegon three years later, saying the area was ripe with software talent and opportunity.

Corlnet is now housed in the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon.

Betten, however, recently signed a lease to move his firm into a larger 3,500-square-feet space in Muskegon, at 950 W. Norton Ave. The move should be completed this month.

In the next year, he expects the area to grow.

“My family started their business in Muskegon,” Betten said. “I’ve always looked at Muskegon and said it’s a completely ignored market. Too many people don’t give it enough credit. Muskegon is roaring back right now.”

Hiring

As part of the move, Betten also plans to hire about three to four developers in next year.

Anyone who wants to apply should email hr at corlnet dot com.

Grand Rapids

Betten also revealed that he’s planning to expand in Grand Rapids and open an office there in the next six months.

That office would need to be about 3,000-5,000 square feet and would house four employees, with plans to add a few more over the course of the first year.

Betten is in final negotiations with two properties on the outskirts of downtown Grand Rapids.

“We have a lot of customers in Grand Rapids, Rockford, Kalamazoo and areas like that,” Betten said. “The Grand Rapids office will allow us to service the basic economic hub of the area, and the Muskegon office will allow us to service the lakeshore.”

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